ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2017
Left frontal pole theta burst stimulation decreases orbitofrontal and insula activity in cocaine users and alcohol users.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 72 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Theta Burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the Treatment of Methamphetamine Use Disorder
Mechanisms Of Orbitofrontal Stimulation in Depression (MOOD)
Who cites it
72 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation in reducing craving in patients with alcohol use disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of neuromodulation therapies for substance use disorders.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of neurostimulation across mental disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis of 208 randomized controlled trials.Molecular psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Safety and recommendations for TMS use in healthy subjects and patient populations, with updates on training, ethical and regulatory issues: Expert Guidelines.Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2021Guideline
- Transcranial electrical and magnetic stimulation (tES and TMS) for addiction medicine: A consensus paper on the present state of the science and the road ahead.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Effects of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation on Stimulant Craving in Users of Cocaine, Amphetamine, or Methamphetamine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2019Pooled it
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the medial prefrontal cortex for psychiatric disorders: a systematic review.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2019Pooled it
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of Medial Prefrontal Cortex Theta Burst Stimulation for Cocaine Use Disorder: A Three-Month Feasibility and Brain Target Engagement Study.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2025Trial
- A preliminary randomized controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in treatment seeking participants with cannabis use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Trial
- Effects of 10 add-on HF-rTMS treatment sessions on alcohol use and craving among detoxified inpatients with alcohol use disorder: a randomized sham-controlled clinical trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Trial
- A double-blind study assessing the impact of orbitofrontal theta burst stimulation on goal-directed behavior.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2022Trial
- Efficacy of Intensive Cerebellar Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iCiTBS) in Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: a Randomized Placebo-Controlled Study.Cerebellum (London, England) · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Translating macaque frontopolar cortex discoveries into psychiatric treatments.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Probing the neurochemical mechanisms of rTMS for alcohol use disorder: Results from a randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind, crossover, proton MR Spectroscopy study.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- Effectiveness of a Combined High-Definition tDCS-Primed Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation Protocol Targeting the Cerebellar Vermis in Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: a Randomized Sham-Controlled Trial.Cerebellum (London, England) · 2026Article
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation in cocaine use disorder and the risk of seizure: a review of the evidence.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Review
- Do response times add to self-reported craving? A secondary analysis of a neuromodulation trial.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPreclinical research has demonstrated a causal relationship between medial prefrontal cortex activity and cocaine self-administration. As a step towards translating those data to a neural circuit-based intervention for patients, this study sought to determine if continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) to the left frontal pole (FP), would attenuate frontal-striatal activity in two substance-dependent populations.
methodsForty-nine substance dependent individuals (25 cocaine, 24 alcohol) completed a single-blind, sham-controlled, crossover study wherein they received 6 trains of real or sham cTBS (110% resting motor threshold, FP1) each visit. Baseline evoked BOLD signal was measured immediately before and after real and sham cTBS (interleaved TMS/BOLD imaging: single pulses to left FP; scalp-to-cortex distance covariate, FWE correction p<0.05)
resultsAmong cocaine users, real cTBS significantly decreased evoked BOLD signal in the caudate, accumbens, anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal (OFC) and parietal cortex relative to sham cTBS. Among alcohol users, real cTBS significantly decreased evoked BOLD signal in left OFC, insula, and lateral sensorimotor cortex. There was no significant difference between the groups.
conclusionsThese data suggest that 6 trains of left FP cTBS delivered in a single day decreases TMS-evoked BOLD signal in the OFC and several cortical nodes which regulate salience and are typically activated by drug cues. The reliability of this pattern across cocaine- and alcohol-dependent individuals suggests that cTBS may be an effective tool to dampen neural circuits typically engaged by salient drug cues. Multiday studies are required to determine it this has a sustainable effect on the brain or drug use behavior.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.